PORTLAND, Ore. -- Portland-based Mercy Corps is sending urgently needed food to 1,800 people in the conflict-ridden Gaza Strip pending approval from Israel.

The agency plans to send four tons of rice, canned tuna, dates and soy oil to people, focusing on the injured, displaced, elderly and families with young children.

The agency said the effort could be disrupted by the introduction of Israeli ground troops into Gaza.

"These goods are sorely needed by Gazan families," says David Holdridge, Mercy Corps' regional program director for the Middle East. "Most people are running out of food. They cannot get to markets or bakeries because they fear for their safety."

Mercy Corps' program manager for the Gaza Strip, Isdud Najjar, calls the humanitarian situation "the worst I've ever seen."